334 Late Love

"I must say, communicating with you has been very beneficial. This information is extremely important to us. This is the first time in all these years that we have encountered a [society] with the ability to downplay history, not to mention that it is a [Hidden Society] that has evolved from Earth Civilization from another universe."

Disville stood up and handed some materials on social structuralism to Li Aoz, helping him to better understand the biological structure and principles of society.

"These documents are quite valuable!"

Li Aoz casually flipped through the pages and saw phrases like "Imperial Seal," "Group Special Supply," and "Commune Journal," causing the eyelids of the armored scalp to twitch. He couldn't help but say:

"The sheer length of time these things have existed is enough to make them treasures, and their contents are things that even Narrative-level Civilization wouldn't dare reveal to the universe..."

"I find you pleasing to the eye, Lioz."

Disville was quite magnanimous. He patted Li Aoz on the shoulder and said, "We are all hunters, so we shouldn't hold back. We share a common goal: to slaughter these invaders. The only place these monsters that devour civilizations should stay is the Abyss."

Academically, Disville is extremely knowledgeable and can be considered a social expert in the deepest levels of society. However, as a hunter, one must actually fight against society in real combat to be considered truly professional.

While it can't be said that scholars are utterly useless, at least they have some use beyond reciting scriptures and studying, so they're not completely useless.

752-year-old Disville looked at 28-year-old Li Aoz, his eyes filled with images of himself 700 years ago.

Li Aoz didn't rush to leave. He stayed there quietly, doing nothing and remaining silent.

Disville scrutinized Li Aoz for a while, seemingly confirming something, and then spoke:

"I once had both a son and a daughter. Although the country is not perfect, it has been improving step by step through our efforts. Do you know what it feels like to see the country changing day by day? It's like riding a rocket, with new breakthroughs every day, frequent good news in scientific and technological development, and a steadily improving economic situation. Do you know what that feels like? Our struggles are visible to the naked eye."

Disville murmured as he recalled the Past Years:

"When I was in elementary school, we were still growing potatoes and fungi on the Space Station, and we had to save every drop of water. But when I got married at 40, my family was living on a planet enveloped by gravity. I watched the million-ton ships cutting through the waves, trampling nature underfoot. My two children marveled at the magnificence of the ocean. My wife's chronic rhinitis was also relieved a lot because of the humid environment. At that time, I was a software engineer, and I could support a family of five plus a dog and two pigeons all by myself."

Li Aoz listened quietly to Disville's recollections. There was a reason why this over 700-year-old hunter was now living alone on Kailan Star.

Players are always impatient, which causes them to miss out on some good things.

Unlike Li Aoz, he is very patient.

"Looking back now, we often worked overtime, often argued with clients who had cerebral palsy, and struggled with mortgage payments, car payments, and our children's education—but that was probably the happiest time of my life."

Disville crossed his arms and rested them on his lap, gazing absently out the window.

"Just when I thought I would continue this comfortable, ordinary, and normal programmer life, wearing a plaid shirt and taking the subway every day, and that this would continue until I retired—[society] came."

"Unlike any other war, our citizens have infiltrated our ranks, constantly spreading the message that our civilization is decadent, corrupt, and dark. They use various means to erode the faith and cohesion of our people. Large numbers of people... no longer love life, become passive and decadent, and their quality of life declines..."

"Society has destroyed our entire civilization and our core cultural spirit. We no longer have confidence, and we fall into deep self-blame no matter what we do—for example, if we plan to invest in building a factory, citizens will mingle in the crowd and say, 'This is destroying the environment! You are all bad people.'"

"We planned to improve the quality of teaching, but those monstrous citizens launched a scathing attack on the idea that 'the powerful and wealthy want to monopolize education!'"

"We plan to expand the enrollment of college students, and citizens are even mocking us, saying, 'By the time they graduate, you will all be unemployed,' which has plunged our students into deep panic."

"When we plan to increase our defense budget, they say we are 'invading other countries.' When we say our strength is lagging behind our neighbors, they stand up and mock us, saying we are going to be invaded by other civilizations."

Even centuries later, when that period is mentioned, Disville remains reluctant to discuss it. He lowers his head and says in a somber tone, "This went on for 19 years. The power of [Society] grew stronger and stronger, and after an economic crisis, it directly ignited the entire civilization. A large number of people were corrupted by [Society] during the economic crisis. They didn't even bother to hide it anymore, openly spreading their ideas in the name of [Purple Moon Society], making people abandon their belonging to civilization and throw themselves into the embrace of [Society]."

"We are powerless to change this, so we turn to narrative. Since corruption has reached its limit, Narrative-level Civilization have given us two choices:"

He took a sip of water, composed himself, and said, "Either they help us blow up the planet, and everything is lost; or we take matters into our own hands, and before the [Society] entity descends, we can quickly cut through the mess and wipe out all their corruptors."

Li Aoz guessed, "You chose the latter?"

"Yes. Our civilization already had many powerful beings at that time, and we believed that with the help of Narrative-level Civilization, we could defeat the invaders and change our fate of destruction."

At this point, Disville gave a wry smile, "However, we were wrong."

"When we attacked, those corrupt compatriots had completely deviated from our cultural identity, both physically and mentally. They became pawns and cannon fodder of the Purple Moon Society. They didn't care about their identity, but our people found it difficult to pick up a knife and completely eliminate them when facing their compatriots, brothers, lovers, or even children."

"By the time we were ready to make up our minds, it was all over—the true form of the Purple Moon descended upon the world. It was like a purple scorpion with a feathered coat, each feather like a tentacle, slowly floating in space. Its pincers, when opened, could just hold up the entire sun. Its entire body was covered with small, crescent-shaped eyes, and anyone caught in its gaze would immediately be turned into purple ash."

"The Omega of Narrative (24) made his move, followed closely by four deities. They opened up a dimension and dragged the Purple Moon into it. And then? The supreme beings of the Dao were insignificant before the essence of [Society]! They were killed and perished one after another. Like powerless infants, they were slaughtered and crushed!"

After Disville finished speaking, he took a deep breath and remained silent for a long time.

"To this day, I still can't forget the time I was floating in space like trash, watching my home... my children, my loved ones, the work I love, the servers I worked so hard to build, my friends and partners, and my dreams."

His face flushed red, his eyes blazed with hatred, and his expression hardened as he uttered each word clearly:

"That ugly and terrifying giant scorpion tore, bit, chewed, and sucked... like a ripe oyster, devouring me completely. It left me with nothing."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt relieved.

"Actually, it's not that scary. After all, it's just the fall of a country and the destruction of a family. It's like everyone has experienced that. I fell into depression, then received psychotherapy, which lasted for a long time, and I successfully emerged from the shadows. I went back to work, studied, climbed the ladder of success, and started my own small company. Everything is going well."

He held his teacup and said softly:

"You know, when people have money, they feel like they are omnipotent and should take on some responsibility, and I am no exception... Subsequently, as a volunteer, I participated in rescue work in another civilization that had been brutally invaded by society."

"As I walked through the community and out into the countryside to deliver medicine to wounded soldiers, a juror suddenly appeared, drew his knife, and killed the soldier and my comrade."

"Even so, I believe this is not the worst-case scenario."

He looked up at Li Aoz:

"Until she turned her head and my daughter's face was revealed."

"'Long time no see, Dad,' she said. 'Unfortunately, I have a new mom now.'"

As he spoke, he pulled open his shirt collar, revealing a dark scar:

"Then, Lulisha, my own daughter, raised a knife and stabbed it into my heart."

"Luckily, she didn't kill me. Instead, I instinctively fought back and killed her. Blood gushed out, and the purple moonlight shone on her face."

"'You can't kill me, Father,' Lulisha mocked me. 'Mother Purple Moon will collect my body; we are immortal.'"

Under Li Aoz's gaze, Disville said in a deep voice, "From then on, I joined the Hunter Association."

"You might be wondering why I'm telling you so much... Maybe it's because I'm getting older, and I'm becoming more superstitious about metaphysics and karma. Lately, I often dream that Lulisha enters my dreams, yelling that she wants to kill me, and then she cries and says, 'Daddy, save me, I've killed so many people'—I'm too old to do this redemption. You are young and strong, and you are perfectly capable of it."

"Although I don't know if this is true, but— Lioz, if you ever meet a girl with pink hair, blue eyes, and a white flame tattoo on her left cheek, please kill her for me, completely... cut off her existence."

He requested:

"May I?"

[Disweier Luduncike has issued you a commission: "A Belated Father's Love"]

You have accepted the Side Quest – "Love That Came Too Late".

[Type]: Assassination [Duration]: Unlimited [Difficulty]: B [Description]: "An old father feels guilty for not protecting his child and entrusts you to convey his love on his behalf."

[Settlement Conditions]: Find Lulisa Luduncike and choose one of the following actions to complete: A - "Father's Love is Like a Mountain": Kill Lulisa Luduncike and end her suffering; B - "Back to Childhood": End Lulisa Luduncike's suffering and then kill her.